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Burnsville in uncharted territory

By Loren Nelson, Editor, 06/03/11, 11:01PM CDT

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Blaze beat Eagan to reach state tournament for first time in program history


Burnsville, which won just three of its first nine games, has won eight straight after beating Eagan for the Section 3 championship. Photo by Helen Nelson

Eagan coach Bob Felter said his Wildcats had “been living with angels” for most of the season.

Burnsville, meanwhile, had been dancing with demons.

“The beginning of the season was tough,” Blaze coach Jesse Schelitzche said. “And we had some bad losses. We came in with big expectations, and I think that kind of put us in our place.”

Angels and Demons … the Hollywood-esque storyline for the Friday, June 3, Section 3 championship game between Eagan and the Blaze was missing a Tom Hanks cameo but did provide an unexpected plot twist.


Burnsville's Brayden Bloch is sandwiched by the Eagan tandem of Mack Nelson, left, and Michael Kukulski. Photo by Helen Nelson

Burnsville, attempting to reach the state tournament for the first time in program history, played without Bohdi Engum, a senior attackman who has been the Blaze’s offensive catalyst much of the season. Engum, who has 33 goals and 12 assists for 45 points in 15 games, was especially effective in playoff victories over Apple Valley and Rosemount.

“Bohdi had a huge game for us against Rosemount (in the section semifinals), and he came up to me after the game and shook my hand and said I’m going to miss Friday night and I’ll see you next week,” Schelitzche said after the Blaze beat the Wildcats 13-11.

With Engum, one of the state’s top hockey goaltenders for the past two seasons, in Omaha, Neb., trying out of the United States Hockey League’s Omaha Lancers, the Blaze used an incredibly balanced attack to beat Eagan.

Brian Atkinson, Jace Childs, Kyle Kappel, Blake Gillund and Neal Pester each scored two goals for Burnsville, which trailed 5-2 after the first quarter but outscored the Wildcats 7-1 in the second and third quarters.

“Amazing, this feels awesome,” said Childs, who like Engum was a hockey standout.

Engum’s absence was excused by Schelitzche and his teammates, who expressed no hard feelings.

“(Hockey) is his future,” Childs said. “You have got to respect it. So I was OK with that. We played without him, but we played for him. Now he’s back for the rest of the season.”

No. 4-seeded Burnsville (11-6) plays defending state champion and No. 1 seed Benilde-St. Margaret’s at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 7, at Chanhassen High School in the state semifinals. No. 2 seed Eden Prairie plays No. 3 White Bear Lake at 8 p.m. in the other semifinal.


Burnsville junior Jake Senta looks to make a pass. Photo by Helen Nelson

“This feels better than anything I have ever felt,” said Burnsville defenseman Colin Schroeder, a senior co-captain.

Burnsville’s victory over Eagan was the Blaze’s third straight over a South Suburban Conference opponent they had lost to during the regular season. A team that was 3-6 in mid-May now has won eight straight.

“We’re on fire right now,” Schroeder said.

Burnsville hit bottom with an 8-6 loss to Breck on May 12. Tired of the losing, co-captains Childs, Schroeder and defenseman Mike Mexner called a players'-only meeting. 

“It was actually Jace’s idea,” Schroeder said. “We shouldn’t have lost to some of those teams, so we just had to figure things out. Us as captains got together and decided what we needed to work on and what we needed to improve.”

The meeting amounted to more than just talk. Players showed up early for practice, running drills before the Blaze coaches arrived. They also stayed late, working on their conditioning.

“I take no credit as a coach of what has happened here,” Schelitzche said. “Realistically, it’s just that our guys have come together. You know, I’d rather win games now than at the beginning of the season.”


Burnsville's Jace Childs catches some air has he tries to control the ball in front of Eagan goaltender Lucas Petersen. Photo by Helen Nelson

Statistics, Summary

Photo Gallery

1. Blake Gillund, Burnsville
With standout senior attackman Bodhi Engum out of the lineup because of a junior hockey tryout, the Blaze needed someone to fill the significant scoring void. Enter Gillund, a freshman who scored one regular season goal in 13 games but now has four in the playoffs after scoring twice against Eagan. Gillund scored both his goals in the second half, and his goal with 3:07 remaining proved to be the winner as it gave the Blaze a 12-10 lead.

2. Jace Childs, Burnsville
The senior attackman scored twice and provided his usual inspirational leadership for the Blaze.

3. Cullen Willox, Eagan
A sophomore midfielder, Willox scored a game-high three goals. Two of Willox’s goals came in a 34-second span to start the fourth quarter as the Wildcats rallied from a 9-6 deficit.


Burnsville freshman Blake Gillund. Photo by Helen Nelson

Game Recap

Freshman Blake Gillund scored what proved to be the winning goal with 3 minutes, 7 seconds left and junior Kyle Kappel added an insurance goal with 32 seconds remaining as Burnsville earned its first appearance at the MSHSL state boys’ lacrosse tournament by beating Eagan 13-11 on Friday, June 3, in the Section 3 title game at Lakeville North High School.

Gillund, Kappel, seniors Jace Childs and Brian Atkinson and junior Jake Maxson each scored two goals to lead a balanced attack for the Blaze, who were playing without senior scoring standout Bodhi Engum. A star hockey goaltender, Engum was in Omaha trying out for the United States Hockey League’s Lancers.

Burnsville (11-6) was playing in the section championship for the first time. The Blaze have won eight straight dating to an 8-6 loss to Breck on May 12. Burnsville’s last three playoff victories – over Apple Valley, Rosemount and Eagan – all have come against South Suburban Conference rivals that beat the Blaze during the regular season.

Sophomore midfielder Cullen Willox scored three goals for Eagan (13-3), last season’s Section 3 champion.

Eagan trailed 9-6 going into the fourth quarter but two quick goals by Willox got the Wildcats to within 9-8. Eagan never trailed by more than two goals the rest of the way.

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Secton 3 Playoffs

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